Geraldine Ferraro, the first female vice presidential candidate for a major U.S. political party, died last month from a blood cancer known as multiple myeloma.

According to the National Library of Medicine, multiple myeloma is cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow. Plasma cells help the body’s immune system fight disease by producing antibodies. In multiple myeloma, those plasma cells grow out of control in the bone marrow and form tumors in the areas of solid bone. These tumors impede the bone marrow from making red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

As the cancer cells grow in the bone marrow, they can cause pain and destruction of the bones. If the bones in the spine are affected, it can also put pressure on the nerves resulting in numbness or paralysis.

Symptoms include bleeding problems, bone or back pain, unexplained fever or fractures, vulnerability to infections and feelings of fatigue. People who have a milder form of the disease may simply be monitored for any change in progress. More aggressive forms might be treated with medication or radiation, but chemotherapy or transplants rarely lead to a permanent cure.

— Markian Hawryluk, The Bulletin

Source: National Library of Medicine